Cladding a cabin is not as hard as it looks although you probably need at least two people to line is up and get it just right but before you start you really need to insulate your cabin properly.

SilverWrap Wall Insulation

I choose SilverWrap Medium Duty Reflective Wall Insulation which is what I see many Australian homes wrapped with.

Zincalume Corrugated Cladding

I choos Zincalume Corrugated Cladding for the exterior of the cabin. It’s tried and tested and has been around in Australia for many years.

The Zinc Corrugated Exterior is easy to do once you get started and get a feel for it.

Interior Cladding

For the interior of the Cabin I have chosen to go with Lightweight Interior Pine which worked wonderfully. I do have some ideas about how I would do it differently next time.

Bracing is a very important part of stringing the cabin, There are two easy ways to do this,

• The first is steel cross bracing, which is lengths of steel placed a a 45 degrees across all all sides of the cabin,
• The second is bracing ply attached on the outside of the frame work with clout sales which provides a lot of strength.

There is aways a lot you can do to straighten your cabin, from the base to the roof top, I learned a lot by doing the bracing and I am glad I did it well, because I can have peace of mind when I move the cabin oneway that it will be able to “travel safely and well”.

Steel Cross Bracing

I used steel for the cross bracing, which worked out quite well, its a lot of up and down ladders, and its quite a mission to get it nice and tight. To be honest the entire process of building whole cabin is a lot of climbing up and down ladders.

<Insert Cross Bracing Video Here>

Bracing Ply Cladding

Bracing Ply makes it look like a cabin / dwelling very quickly and easy, mind you, its quick to put up the sheets of ply but it takes a long time to nail in all the clout nails. A builder looked in on my cabin an suggested that I probably did not need to put in a many clout nails as I did. Lesson learned for next time.

The cabin is almost complete.  I began building early 2020 (early covid), and here we are in July 2022. I have compiled journal of my progress beginning with the base (this post), moving on to the framing, and the bracing. 

This is an update of progress so far. Let’s say it’s very liveable but not yet complete.

Construction

I have made some progress, or let’s say that the base in very nearly complete, and I expect to have the sides and roof structure up this weekend, ready for the cladding and roof. If I say so myself it’s pretty well constructed so I reckon I could make another more easily and quicker. I am being careful to do it as inexpensively as possible, but still maintain the quality, also I being careful to modularise it. So things like buying in 6 m lengths and then cutting in half saved some cash, and using standard sizes.

Mistake #1 Don’t build in the shade, I should not have built under a tree, while this seemed like a very good idea in the heat of summer, when the winter set in it was very cool, even cold, which put me off working in the morning, since I’m a sunshine person. The tree also dropped it leave on the construction, and generally created a moist damp environment. It ended up being a pain, and I choose to move it to the sunshine later. So try start, build and finish in the right place place first time.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time money and effort building our cabin in the garden during the COVID 19 lockdown and having reached the point of having to hang up the roof. I had to make a design decision.  

Do I go with the Tradition Australian Tin Roof  (I’m partial to time tested traditional concepts) or I can go with Structural Insulated Roof Panels, which come with some advantages like it can span wide spaces it has insulation built into the design, and which is extraordinarily strong and can easily support someone walking on the roof. 

Here is my Cabin Building a Small Cabin 2020

After a good look around I discovered a business owned by Tony Zheng in Lawnton (near Brisbane, Queensland) and was able to buy 4 sheets of 4.8m x 1000mm x 50mm panels for $904 (as at June 2020).  So that’s 48 sq/m of good quality roof for $904  

No trusses, rafters or battens are necessary, you only need the two ends, and I believe the can span 4.4m between the two ends. (as far as I know). 

Structured Insulated Roofing Panes – 50mm thick.

If you look carefully at the edge panels you can see how they will interlock with one another, and in so doing become waterproof, exactly like traditional roofing. 

Laying the new roof on the cabin was the exciting part for me, I’d finally reached the part of the process which made it feel like a dwelling of one sort or another.

Lesson, remove the plastic film from the underside of the cabin as soon as the sheets are in place and before you fasten the sheets down. I would even consider removing the protective file before lifting it on to the roof, because its mainly for protection during transport.

Framing is a large part of of building a cabin, it’s also very time consuming.

The main thing I learned is to build each side of the cabin on the ground first and then lift them up into place. You will see in the photos that I partially complete each side and then lifted them into place. I consumed a lot of my time climbing up and down ladders, which looking back would have been unnecessary had I fully completed the framing of each side of the cabin on the ground first

On the 14th of March 2020, Mark, Louise and I set out to the Beerwah Bunker to purchase timber for the cabin we’ve been planning to build.

The best way to complete a project is to begin.

I am pleased I brought my friend Mark with us because he introduced the idea of using standard sizes and length, which would work out cheaper and make it modular. 

Clearly I had not done very much planning, I had a notebook, a pen, and a tape measure, it was our intention to ask the Bunker about the available size, length and costs of timber. We thought we would choose our materials based on what was available. 

Material List and Costs (so far)

Listed as I buy the materials. 

• 2 x Bearers   3.6. x. 300 x 100
• 8 x Joists 6m x 140mm x 75mm
• 8 x Joists 6m x 70mmx 35mm
• 4 x Yellow Tongue Flooring. 3.6m x 800mm  x 19mm  
• 32 x Triple Grip Joiners

Saturday, 16 May 2020

• 7 x Joists 6m x 70mmx 35mm

“The tongue colour relates to the thickness of the sheets; a yellow tongue refers to the 19 mm thickness, the 22 mm sheet has a red tongue, and the blue tongue identifies the 25 mm sheet”

I was quite pleased with what I’d bought because we could imagine how it would look quite easily,

Photo Journal

A list of Cabin Essentials

Initial ideas around furnishing

• A single or double bed.
• A reading chair, sofa and reading lamp.
• A writing desk and bookshelf.
• A large sliding door and window with a view.
• Devices to play music on, and perhaps a small TV to watch documentaries on

Journal of Progress

Some of my thoughts extracted from Day One.  I feel that these are useful to show and explain how things have progressed with the cabin.

13^th of August, 2019

Last night was pleasant sitting around the fire outside, Julian mentioned that he might light to build a cabin.

Sunday 10^th November 2019

I have a few ideas about making it profitable and they all hinge around the idea of small cabins, and micro rentals, Airbnb and Glamping.

Thursday 2nd April 2020

Now if I were to ask myself  “what are your main tasks” then there are several. The first being to guide and support my family so that we are not unduly anxious or frustrated. Another may be to write, and another to complete the tiny cabin I am building.

Saturday, April 11^th, 2020

I am still not certain where I plan to build the cabin, I suspect it will be located between the two sheds.

Sunday 26^th April 2020 

Mark Lythall came round at about 1 pm and we made a start on the cabin,  I stopped to provide an opportunity for Louise to work on it when she returns from Atalanta where she has got horse riding for the day.

Saturday, 16 May 2020

Mark and I went to the bunker and bought seven more lengths of  timber 6m x 70mmx 35mm

Saturday, 27 June 2020

Worked on the cabin steadily, there is a lot more work involved than I at first thought it would be. I bought the most of what I need to complete the cabin, including the Structural Ply Bracing which will make it more rigid so that it can be transported if necessary, bought the steel tie-downs to make it hurricane-proof. Also bought the breathable insulation with is semi-waterproof and will make it warm and cooler where necessary. I also bought the roof (SIP’s) Structural Insulation roofing Panels / Roofing sheets so the roof can go on soon.